Lightning Strikes Part 2 (36 Hours) Read online

  Once seated, her eyes went to her phone. For a second it seemed to taunt her. God, she hated to make this call, but that was part of her job.

  Doctors couldn’t save everyone, no matter how hard they tried.

  Chapter Ten

  Annie Moore curled into a fetal position on the couch. She didn’t want to listen to her boyfriend holler at her, but what choice did she have? None.

  “Please,” she said, peering up at him out of green eyes that at one time would’ve been considered beautiful, but not now. They were dull and sunk too far back in her head. “I’m tired. I wanna go to sleep.”

  “And I want you to get rid of that kid.”

  “It’s your kid, too,” Annie lashed back.

  Todd Stover laughed an ugly laugh. “Can you prove it?”

  “I don’t have to.” Annie sat up, feeling the baby move inside her. “Anyway, you know it’s yours.”

  “Yeah, I guess I do at that. First virgin I ever had.”

  Annie’s face turned red, then she glared at Todd, wondering how she ever got hooked up with him. He wasn’t handsome, not in the least. He had a long, thin face that was covered in a beard and mustache, making it seem overcrowded. His body was the same—long and thin. Gaunt, actually, but that was because instead of eating he spent his money on drugs.

  Thank goodness he’d been unable to talk her into joining him. Hell, even at sixteen, she was smart enough to know that would get her nowhere. But she’d been with Todd since she’d sneaked out of the orphanage and run away.

  He’d picked her up at a hangout one evening after she’d had a few drinks. They had been together ever since, shacking in first one hovel, then the next. Todd had never held a steady job. She didn’t suspect he ever would. He felt the world owed him something—what, she had never figured out. When she asked him, he couldn’t tell her, either, except that it was the government’s responsibility to take care of people like him.

  “I’m hungry,” Annie said at last, refocusing her thoughts, eyeing the jar of peanut butter and crackers on the rickety table and feeling her stomach revolt. God, she’d like some chicken nuggets from McDonald’s. But she knew better than to mention that. There was no money for such a luxury. Anyway, Todd would just laugh and maybe even hit her. He’d been prone to that lately, the closer she came to having the baby.

  “Whatcha see is whatcha get,” Todd said, a scowl deepening the lines on his face, lines that would be more suitable on someone who was forty-one rather than twenty-one.

  He reached for a cigarette. After lighting it, he held one out to her. Annie shook her head, flinching as another round of lightning and thunder actually shook the old apartment building they were in.

  “Come on,” Todd coaxed. “It’ll do you good.”

  “It’s not good for the baby.” The minute she said that, Annie wished she could take back the words.

  “Who the hell cares?” He inhaled deeply, then slowly blew out the smoke. “It’s just a matter of time till that kid’s history, anyhow.”

  Annie straightened and pushed one side of her long, stringy hair behind her ears. “I told you—”

  Todd lifted his hand. She cringed back against the smelly, tattered sofa, just missing the blow. But she wasn’t about to get off so easily. He leaned over and grabbed a handful of her hair.

  “Ouch!” she whimpered, her eyes filling with tears.

  “You’re gonna think ‘ouch’ if you don’t do like I tell you.”

  “I’m too far along.” Annie scrambled to her feet, so that he couldn’t miss her protruding stomach, not that he wasn’t aware of it. Every day, he cursed what he called that useless hump.

  “How the hell would you know?” he countered, running his hands through his dirty hair. “You don’t know a damn thing about having a baby.”

  “I know from some of the girls at the home.” Her tone was sullen. “One of `em died.”

  “Ah, ain’tnothin’ gonna happen to you.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  A harsh glint appeared in his eyes. “What I do know is that I ain’t having no brat.” He paused and took another long drag. “Besides, I’ve made arrangements.”

  Annie’s heart plummeted to her feet. “Arrangements? What kind of arrangements?” She knew the answer to the question, but she thought if she acted ignorant, it might buy her time to think. She never claimed to be smart, but she wasn’t dumb, either. There had to be a way out of this mess without that drastic measure.

  “A friend of mine’sgonna, uh, you know, take care of things.”

  “Since when do you have a friend?”

  He raised his hand again. “You’re just itching to git smacked, ain’t you?”

  “No,” she whispered, trying to control the tears. He hated for her to cry.

  “Then shut up whining.”

  “But I’m scared,” Annie wailed, her eyes darting to the window. Surely he didn’t expect her to go out on a night like this? Even though this place was perhaps the worst they had stayed in, at least it was a roof over their heads, keeping them dry. At this point that was all she could hope for.

  “I’ll be with you, holding your hand.”

  Liar. He’d dump her, then come back for her after some hacker had messed her up or killed her.

  “What about your mother?”

  “What about her?” Todd’s tone was nasty.

  Annie knew she was playing with fire by pushing this subject, but she had to do something. “Would she take the baby?”

  Todd pitched his head back and laughed. “You gotta be kiddin’? Hell, she didn’t want me. What makes you think she’d want someone else’s brat?”

  “It’s her grandchild.”

  “So?”

  “So, I don’t want to do this. Please don’t make me.”

  “You haveta. I told you, I already set it up.”

  “For…when?” Annie couldn’t control the tremor in her voice.

  “Thirty minutes.”

  Annie cried out, then placed her arms over her stomach and once again felt the infant kick.

  Annie’s tremors worsened. While she didn’t particularly want the child herself, having no clue as to how she was going to take care of it, she didn’t want to die, either. She had dreams of one day getting free of Todd, meeting some nice man, or even going back to school and getting educated.

  “Ready?”

  She backed against the wall. “I…I can’t.”

  “‘Course, you can.”

  “The weather’s so bad. What if we get struck by lightning?”

  “Ah, hell, that ain’tgonna happen. Now, let’s go. I’m fast losing what little patience I got left.”

  “Please, don’t make me do this.”

  Two steps and he was in front of her, his twisted face so close she could smell his foul breath. She turned aside. He grasped her chin and jerked her back around. “You either do what I say or get out and stay out.”

  “You…mean—”

  “I mean you’re outta here. I told you before, I ain’t having no brat. Now, what’s it gonna be? Me or that brat?”

  “I can’t,” she whispered.

  She should’ve seen it coming, only she didn’t. Only after he backhanded her across the right cheek did she respond, running toward the door and opening it.

  He laughed when she paused on the threshold, watching as the rain came down in torrents. “Go on, hit the road. We’re through.”

  Annie whipped around. “You’re a bad person, Todd Stover. God’s gonna get you.”

  He stalked toward her, his entire demeanor menacing. “I’m gonna get you if you don’t get out of my sight.”

  Rather than take the chance of getting punched in the belly this time, Annie stumbled out the door onto the sidewalk, wincing as the rain dented her thin, unprotected skin.

  What to do? She had nowhere to go, no friends she could turn to. Then something clinked in the back of her mind. A homeless shelter was nearby, she remembered, though she wasn�
�t sure in which direction.

  Hot tears mingled with the cold rain as she began walking down the sidewalk, her teeth banging against each other. Maybe she’d get lucky and find it. Ducking her head, she forced herself to put one foot in front of the other. By the time she reached the end of the block, it dawned on her that she was the only living soul on the street. No cars were in sight.

  Another flash of lightning crashed across the sky. She cried out, but no one heard her. Turning, she began to walk again, though she had no idea where, the rain crippling her both mentally and physically.

  It was in the middle of the next block when the pain hit her. “Oh!” she cried, doubling over and clutching her stomach. What was happening? It wasn’t time for the baby. She had more than two months to go—at least, that was what the doctor at the free clinic had told her just yesterday.

  Yet another pain more severe than the last one took her breath. Her first thought was to crumple onto the concrete and say to hell with it. She couldn’t fight anymore.

  But again, she didn’t want to die, not here, not like this. She couldn’t move, though. The pain wouldn’t let her. Finally, she bent over and forced herself to move, taking tiny steps.

  Help!

  She had to get help. Fighting off the panic building inside her, she looked to the right, then to the left, while the thunder and lightning danced around her. She had to find a house with someone home.

  A light.

  Still holding her stomach, she made her way toward that ray of hope. As she drew closer, she realized it was the hospital. Slowly she moved toward the large neon emergency sign.

  “Please…help me,” Annie cried around her chattering teeth as she pushed through the double doors. “I…think my baby’s coming.”

  * * *

  The man turned green.

  “Get the pan!” Amanda beckoned Liz Roberts, then stood aside.

  Liz barely made it before the patient emptied the contents of his stomach yet again. Thank God, this time it was in the container and not on her. Amanda winced. Although she had shed her soiled garments and was now wearing a clean coat, blouse and skirt, the stench lingered. What she needed was a long, hot shower. That wasn’t going to happen. She hadn’t stopped once since Olivia Stuart’s death.

  She wasn’t alone. Noah was in surgery now, removing a woman’s perforated appendix, though she suspected he was about through and would be returning to the ER, something she wished she could prevent.

  Not now, Amanda, she told herself, giving her head a savage shake. Now was certainly not the time to think about him. Yet she couldn’t control her deranged thoughts.

  Married! That just couldn’t be. But if it were the truth, then it was best she knew. Sooner or later, she would have found out. Right now, she had to remove Noah and his latest betrayal from her mental agenda. Her job must come first. This man needed her undivided attention, and he was damn well going to get it.

  “Mr. Boon, are you feeling better?”

  “I think I’m going to die. I…I can’t get my breath.”

  “Trust me, you’re not going to die, at least not right this minute.”

  The big, burly man’s eyes said he didn’t believe her. “What the hell’s wrong with me, Doc?”

  “Acute anxiety disorder.”

  “What the hell—”

  “In plain English, Mr. Boon, you’ve had a panic attack.”

  He cursed, then looked at her like she’d lost all her faculties. Amanda suppressed a smile and didn’t dare look at her nurse, who she knew would be rolling her eyes.

  “You sure I’m not having a heart attack?”

  “I’m sure. But we’re going to keep you here until your heart rate settles, then I’ll give you some medicine to take with you. However, as soon as you can, I suggest you see your own physician.”

  “It’s that damn job. I kept telling my boss I was going to crash and burn.”

  “Well, you just did, but you’re going to be all right.”

  “Thanks, Doc,” he said, lying back down on the stretcher.

  “Keep an eye on him, Liz,” Amanda said, walking out of the trauma room into the hall, where she barely missed butting heads with Doris.

  “Wow! That was close,” her friend said with a frown. “You smell awful.”

  “Don’t I know it.”

  “What happened?”

  Amanda arched an eyebrow. “Guess?”

  “Someone puked on you?”

  “You win the prize.”

  “Some prize,” Doris mumbled, then added, “You got a free minute?”

  “You gotta be kidding.”

  “Sorry, that was a stupid question.”

  “For you, I’ll make a minute. What’s up?”

  Doris looked around, then back at Amanda. “I was just…uh, worried about you, that’s all.”

  “Don’t be.”

  “I should’ve kept my big mouth shut and not told you about Nick getting married so quickly after breaking off your engagement.”

  Amanda sighed. “Let yourself off the hook, okay? I have. Besides, it doesn’t matter. Noah’s out of my life. You do believe that, don’t you?”

  Doris hesitated. “If you say so.”

  “I say so. Now—”

  Amanda never finished the sentence. Screams stopped her words cold. She swung around and watched as a pregnant young girl pushed through the emergency room doors and started to double over in pain.

  “Oops!” Doris said. “I’ll see you later.”

  Amanda barely acknowledged her friend’s quick departure. “Call Dr. Petrocelli!” she shouted, racing toward the girl.

  “I’m here, if you need me.”

  Amanda didn’t have to turn around to know who had just joined her. Noah. She steeled herself not to react.

  Chapter Eleven

  “Sh, calm down,” Amanda said, joining Nurse Beth Kent as she wheeled the patient into an examining room. Amanda saw right off that this was no woman, but rather a teenager. The girl couldn’t be more than sixteen, if she was that.

  Amanda sighed, thinking again how the moral fiber of the country was slowly going down the drain. But who was she to set herself up as judge and jury? For all she knew this girl could be happily married. She needed to get a grip on herself.

  She blamed her lack of focus on Noah’s presence. Since his return, she wasn’t sure she’d had one rational thought. Somehow, he managed to put kinks into everything.

  And here he was breathing down her neck.

  “Has her water broken?” Noah asked.

  “I think so, but I’m about to examine her if Petrocelli doesn’t show up stat.” Amanda hated that every nerve in her body reacted to Noah. It was that damn cologne. Smelling it added another dimension to her anger.

  “Am I going to die?” the girl asked. Her eyes were wide in her too-thin face as she grabbed Amanda’s hand and dug her nails into it.

  “No, you’re not going to die,” Amanda soothed, thinking that she was the second person within an hour who feared they were dying. A creepy night like this seemed to bring out the insecurities in people, herself notwithstanding.

  “What you’re going to do is have a healthy baby,” Amanda said with a confidence that she was far from feeling.

  “What’s your name?” Beth Kent asked from beside her.

  “Annie.”

  “All right, Annie,” Amanda said, “we’re—”

  “Oh!” the girl screamed again.

  Amanda wiped her brow. “It’s all right. We’re going to take care of you. I promise.”

  Annie continued to cling to Amanda’s hand. “Don’t leave me!”

  “I won’t. Where’s Petrocelli?” Amanda’s voice was low and calm, but the feeling that something was wrong persisted, especially when the girl’s water actually did break.

  “What’s happening?” Annie cried.

  “It’s your water. It broke.”

  Amanda didn’t know what made her turn toward Noah, but she did. Perhaps
he’d made some kind of guttural noise? She didn’t know. What she did know was that he had a strange look on his face. Although she couldn’t readily identify that look, it nonetheless took her breath. What was going on?

  “Petrocelli’s on his way,” one of the aides said after sticking his head around the door.

  “I’m here, actually.”

  “About time,” Noah mumbled as the gynecologist breezed into the room.

  Amanda turned and faced Dr. Tony Petrocelli, whose day-old beard was testimony to the fact that he’d been there for twenty-four hours, at least, despite the fact that he had on a clean scrub suit.

  However, she knew he was up to the task at hand. His brown eyes were sharp as they rested on the patient.

  “Hello, young lady,” he said in a firm but soft voice. “Looks like you’re about to become a mother.”

  “Am I going to die?” Annie whispered.

  Petrocelli glanced at Amanda, who raised her eyebrows. She didn’t have the slightest idea what was going through this girl’s head, but whatever it was, it wasn’t good.

  Not only was Annie malnourished, she was actually dirty—smelled, in fact. Maybe it was the stale odor of cigarettes in her clothes the rain hadn’t washed away that was the most offensive. Cigarettes and pregnancy were a dangerous combination.

  She was a street kid, Amanda would bet anything on it. She had all the earmarks. Where was the baby’s father? Amanda smiled, but with sad humor. Perhaps Annie had no idea herself.

  “How are things?” Noah asked, his gaze switching from Annie to Petrocelli.

  Petrocelli didn’t answer Noah right off. Instead, he perched on the stool at the foot of the gurney and began his examination, talking softly to his patient as he did so. A few minutes later, he got up, then motioned for Amanda and Noah to follow him outside the trauma room.

  Uh-oh, something was terribly wrong. Amanda voiced that thought. “It’s not good, is it?”

  “Afraid not,” Petrocelli said, rubbing his forehead. “She’s gone into premature labor, and she’s small-boned, which will add to the problem.”

  “Are you going to have to take the baby?” Noah asked.